STORY: Advisers to the French president described the Pyrenees trip as breaking with protocol for a chance for one-on-one chats with Xi, without scores of aides, in mountains dear to Macron as the birthplace of his maternal grandmother.
One of Macron's main objectives is to convince Xi to reduce the trade imbalance between the two regions, with better access for European firms in China and fewer subsidies for Chinese exporters.
Macron and his wife, Brigitte, who greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the airport in windy weather, took them to lunch high up in the mountains.
After watching traditional dancers perform under the snowy peaks, they ate locally grown ham, lamb, cheese and blueberry pie.
